Apparatus for setting hair



Aug. 6, 1968 J. A. SMITH APPARATUS FOR SETTING HAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 50, 1965 INVENTOR. JACQUE A. SMITH glib x.

ATTORNEY Aug. 6, 1968 SMITH 3,395,790

APPARATUS FOR SETTING HAIR Filed Aug. 30, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JACQUE A. SMITH ATTORNEY United States 3,395,790 APPARATUS FOR SETTING HAHR Jacque A. Smith, Santa Clara, Calif, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Clifton C. Cottrell, San Jose, Calif., trustee Filed Aug. 30, 1965, Ser. No. 483,493 5 Claims. (Cl. 20665) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The roller of the present invention has a smooth, frustoconical external shape. A set of such rollers is employed so that the smaller diameter end of each roller has substantially the same diameter as the larger diameter of the next smaller roller.

To obtain a flowing swirl style, the rollers are arranged with the smaller diameter end of each roller pointing toward a common pivot point. For obtaining a long reverse curve style, the rollers are arranged side-by-side with their axes in parallel relation and with the smaller diameter ends of adjacent rollers pointing in opposite directions.

This invention relates to the styling of womens hair, and a particular to a method and apparatus for setting hair in a manner which will achieve the desired styles.

In the art of hair styling the modern fashionable approach is to arrange the hair so that it swirls or sweeps in a long graceful curve around a fixed pivot axis. This result is achieved by setting the hair on rollers which are arranged insofar as possible with their axes all pointing toward a fixed pivot point. The problem is that conven tional rollers are in the form of straight sided cylinders. Obviously, when straight sided cylinders are placed side by side they form a straight path with the axes of the cylinders being parallel to each other rather than pointing toward a center pivot point. Similarly, when the straight sided cylinders are fanned out so that their axes point toward a common pivot point, the radially outer end of each cylinder becomes spaced a substantial distance from the adjacent cylinder. As a result it is very difficult to perfect the desired swirl type hair styling with straight cylindrical rollers. Only very skilled hair stylists can do an acceptable job of creating the desired swirl effect.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new shaped hair roller and method of use thereof which will make it relatively easy to set hair so that when it is combed out it can easily be arranged in a swirl around a fixed pivot. The objective has been achieved by constructing hair rollers which have a frusto-conical shape as distinguished from a straight cylindrical shape and then arranging a group of such rollers in the :hair with their narrow ends all pointing toward the desired fixed pivot to provide a compact perfect swirl.

Another result which modern hair styling attempts to achieve is that of long flowing reverse curves. For example, the appearance of an elongated S-shape. The reverse curve effect can be achieved by skilled personnel employing straight cylindrical rollers with the axes of the rollers arranged at angles to each other so that the rollers form a sort of zigzag pattern down the head. As in the case of the swirl arrangement the problem is that when straight cylindrical rollers are placed side by side but at an angle to each other, they can be placed close to each other at one end but this casues a substantial gap between the rollers at their opposite ends. As a result, great care is required to obtain the reverse curved effect and even skilled operators have difiiculty in making the curved portion formed by one roller blend smoothly and compactly into the curved portion formed by the adjacent roller.

Accordingly another object of the invention is to pro- 3,395,790 Patented Aug. 6, 1968 vide a method and apparatus for making it easy to obtain smooth flowing reverse curves. The objective is achieved by constructing frusto-conical shaped rollers and then arranging the rollers side by side with the axes of the rollers substantially parallel to each other and with the narrow ends of adjacent rollers pointing in opposite directions.

A further effect which modern hair styling seeks to achieve around the edges of the hair particularly in the back is a soft billowy arrangement but with the ends of the hair tucked relatively tightly under. As in the case of the swirl and reverse curved eflects it is difficult to obtain the desired turned under effect with straight cylindrical rollers. The problem with straight cylindrical rollers is that the curl formed thereon has the same radius of curvature at each end of the roller. Thus the hair stylist finds it very difficult to obtain the tight turn-under curl adjacent the desired looser billowy curve.

It is therefore a further object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for obtaining a relatively tight turn-under curl at the end of a lock of hair and a relatively larger radius curve adjacent thereto. This object is achieved by constructing a frusto-conical roller and arranging it with the small end thereof adjacent the hairline.

Another effect which modern stylists strive to achieve involves the use of rollers of different diameters arranged coaxially in a line. The purpose of course is to obtain an arrangement which has a large ra-dius billowy curve at one portion and terminates in a tighter curl at one end. This is of course one approach that can be used with straight cylindrical rollers to obtain the preceding object of a tight turn-under curve adjacent a more billowy curve. The difiiculty is that an imperfect result is achieved because the resulting wave does not blend precisely from one roller to the next because the rollers themselves do not shift smoothly from one diameter to the next but do so in a step or sudden fashion.

Accordingly it is an additional object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for obtaining a long curve which blends smoothly from a relatively large radius of curvature down to a substantially smaller radius of curvature. This objective is achieved by constructing a set of frusto-conical rollers designed so that when they are placed in a line they form a composite shape which is a substantially smooth frusto-conical shape. In other words the small diameter end of each roller has substantially the same diameter as the large diameter end of the next smaller roller.

These and other objects and features of advantage will become more apparent from the following detailed description wherein reference is made to accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a single frustoconical roller made in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2. is a cross-sectional view along the center line of the roller shown in FIGURE 1 and showing a fastening clip in place;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the set of frusto-conical rollers made in accordance with the invention and showing the interrelated sizes of the rollers in the set;

FIGURE 4 is a view showing hair rolled on a group of frusto-conical rollers arranged with the small ends of each roller pointing toward a common pivot point;

FIGURE 5 is a view showing the resulting hair style which can be obtained when the rollers of FIGURE 4 are removed and the hair is combed out;

FIGURE 6 is a view showing the frusto-conical rollers arranged with the small ends of the rollers pointing in an opposite direction to obtain a long reverse curve effect;

FIGURE 7 is a view showing the long reverse curve style which is obtained when the rollers of FIGURE 6 are removed and the hair is combed out;

FIGURE 8 is a view showing frusto-conical rollers arranged along the ends of the hair in the back with the small ends of the rollers pointing downwardly to obtain the relatively tight turn-under effect;

FIGURE 9 is a view showing the result which is obtained when the rollers of FIGURE 8 are removed and the hair is combed out;

FIGURE 10 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 but including a second line of rollers arranged so that the length of the curl is increased by having plural rollers arranged in alignment, with the small end of one roller contiguous to the large end of the adjacent aligned roller;

FIGURE 11 is a view showing the hair style which can be obtained when the rollers of FIGURE 10 are removed and the hair is combed out; and

FIGURE 12 is a side elevational view of a frusto-conical roller similar to the roller of FIGURE 1 'but having a modified external surface.

Referring in more detail to the drawings, FIGURE 1 shows a roller indicated generally at 1 and made in accordance with the invention. Hair roller 1 has a frustoconical external shape. In other words the sides of the roller taper toward each other from the large to the small end, in contrast to the conventional straight sided cylindrical roller on 'which the sides are parallel throughout the length of the roller. As shown in FIGURE 2 the roller is preferably made with a constant thickness side wall so that the inner periphery 3 is also a frusto-conical shape. The inside of the roller is of course not involved in shaping the hair and therefore can have any convenient configuration. However, it is preferred that at least one end of the roller be open so that a hair clip or bobby pin can be slipped in place to hold the hair as will be hereinafter described in more detail. The hair roller can be made of any desired material, and a chemically inactive plastic is very suitable.

In order to achieve the complete versatility of which the frusto-conical roller is capable, it is necessary that the roller be provided in a variety of sizes. In addition, it 'is necessary for complete utilization that the set of matched sizes be constructed so that the small diameter end of each roller has substantially the same diameter as the large diameter end of the next smaller roller. A preferred form of manufacture is to first form a single elongated frusto-conical tube and then cut it into sections to provide the series of different diameter rollers 1, 1a, 1b and 10 as shown in FIGURE 3. Thus to the extent that material is removed by the cutter, the small diameter end of one roller .will not be precisely the same diameter as the large diameter end of the next smaller roller but they will have substantially the same diameter.

It has been found that the shorter the rollers are made the more taper they can have and still be effective to function in the desired manner. Thus it has been found that a fixed difference in diameter from end to end can be used for a variety of different lengths. More specifically a fixed difference in diameter of %-inch is preferred. Also two different lengths of 1% inches and 2% inches are preferred. In each of the length groups a series of rollers is made, and of course all rollers in the series will have the same taper because they have the same length and the same difference in diameter from end to end. In a preferred embodiment, the diameter at the short ends of the rollers for each length group is /8 inch for the narrowest, then inch, 1 /8 inch and 1% inch. In the group of longer rollers, two additional rollers of 1 /8 inch and 2% inch are useful. As previously stated the diameters of the large ends of the rollers are ,-inch larger than the small ends. Thus the large diameter end of the narrowest roller will have a diameter of /8 inch.

In general the approach to using the frusto-conical roller is much the same as the approach to using a conventional straight cylindrical roller. More specifically a lock of hair is selected, the end thereof is turned around the roller, and the roller is rotated until it comes to rest adjacent the scalp with the lock of hair entirely wound thereon. At this stage the roller and hair can be conveniently locked in place by inserting a hobby pin or a conventional spring clip 4 at one or both ends of the roller. As shown in FIGURE 2 one leg of the clip goes on the inside of the roller and the other leg goes on the outside of the roller over the top of the strands of hair adjacent the roller. Preferably the outer leg of the clip is located so it clamps only the under layer of rolled hair against the periphery of the roller. In other words the outer leg of the clip does not go on top of the outside surface of the rolled hair in order to avoid making a depression or groove along the roll of hair. Obviously other means can be employed to hold the hair in place on the roller such as providing the periphery of the roller with a high friction surface or employing external split sleeves. When the end of a lock is initially placed on the roller at the start of the roll, care should be taken to hold the roller so that the surface thereof which is toward the head is held substantially parallel to the head at the base of the lock which is to be rolled. In this way when the roll is completed the roller ends up substantially flush against the head. This technique is to 'be distinguished from the result which would obtain if the roller at the start of the roll were held with its axis, instead of its surface, substantially parallel to the head. The result which obtains with the latter approach is that at the end of the roll the large diameier end of the roller is fiush against the head but the narrow diameter end of the roller is substantially spaced from the head with the result that the desired relatively tight curl at the narrow end does not go completely to the scalp as would be preferred in most cases.

The methods of employing the frusto-conical rollers to obtain the various modern hair stylings will now be described. In order to obtain the flowing swirl type shown at 10 in FIGURE 5 the frusto-conical rollers 1 are arranged as shown in FIGURE 4 with the small diameter end of each of the rollers pointing substantially toward a common pivot point indicated at 10. The hair is rolled on the rollers l in the manner previously described and after conventional setting techniques are employed the clips 4 and the rollers are removed and the hair is combed out in accordance with conventional techniques.

In order to obtain the long reverse curve style shown at 11 in FIGURE 7, the rollers 1 are arranged as shown in FIGURE 6. In other words the rollers are arranged side by side with their axes substantially parallel and with the small diameter ends of adjacent rollers pointing in opposite directions. In order to obtain the relatively tight turn-under effect shown at '12 in FIGURE 9 wherein the adjacent hair has a more billowy larger radius curve, the rollers are arranged as shown in FIGURE 8. More specifically the frusto-conical rollers are arranged near the hairline with the small diameter ends pointing downwardly.

In order to obtain the very long continuously tapering curl shown at 14 in FIGURE 11 the frusto-conical rollers are arranged as shown in FIGURE 10. In other words the larger rollers 1b are arranged in substantial alignment with the smaller rollers 1, and the small diameter ends of the aligned rollers are all pointing in the same direction. The desired effect here is achieved by employing rollers in a set including different sizes as shown in FIG- URE 3 wherein the small end of each roller has substantially the same diameter as the large end of the next smaller roller. It should be understood that the arrangements of FIGURES 6 and 8 can also use aligned rollers of different sizes to lengthen the curl. It should also be understood that in the arrangement of FIGURES 4, 6, 8 and 10, various size frusto-conical rollers can be intermixed for special effects in arrangements which do not require that the different size rollers be aligned or that the small ends of aligned rollers point in the same direction.

FIGURE 12 shows a frusto-conical roller 1 which has a slightly different external surface than the smooth surface of roller 1. More specifically, roller 1' is provided with a plurality of annular shoulders or ridges 15 spaced along the roller. Each shoulder extends entirely around the roller in a plane normal to the axis of the roller. The purpose of the roller is to counteract any tendency of particularly slippery hair to slide toward the narrow end of the roller. The shoulders also assist in assuring that each strand of hair is wound substantially normal to the axis of the roller instead of spirally along the roller. In the case of both the smooth rollers 1 and the ridged rollers 1', it is important that the rollers be circular in cross section and that they not have any slits which would receive some of the hair strands. The reason for the unslitted continuously circular shape is to assure that each strand of hair wound on the roller will receive the same curve as its immediately adjacent strand and that no part of any strand will be given any shape which represents a relatively sharp change from the adjacent part of the strand.

It should be understood that the procedure which is used with both the smooth and the ridged rollers is to select a lock of hair which is roughly as wide as the roller is long. The end of the lock is placed on the roller with the Wldlih of the lock extending substantially the full length of the roller. The lock is then wound on the roller with the width of the lock everywhere along the lock extending substantially the full length of the roller. This procedure is to be contrasted to an old procedure for making cork screw type curls wherein the strands of a lock of hair were first twisted together to form a rope-like strand which was then wound spirally around and along a roller.

The finished hair styles shown in the drawings are affected by the direction in which the hair is wound on the rollers. More specifically, in FIGURE 4 each of the rollers has been wound counterclockwise as viewed from the small end of the roller. In FIGURE 6 the top roller was wound counterclockwise, the next roller was wound clockwise, the third roller was wound counterclockwise, and the bottom roller was wound clockwise, as viewed in each case from the small diameter end of the roller. In other words all of the rollers in FIGURE 6 were wound in the same direction when viewed from the same side of the head. In FIGURE 8 each of the rollers was wound clockwise as viewed from the small diameter end of the roller. In FIGURE 10 each of the rollers was wound counterclockwise as viewed from the small diameter end of the roller.

Although specific details of the present invention are shown and described herein, it is to be understood that modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A package comprising a set of hair rollers adapted for use in pivot point and reverse curl hair styling, said hair rollers comprising a plurality of elongated members, each said member having a frusto-conical periphery upon which a lock of hair can be wound to cover the length of said member, and the separate members of said set being sized so that the diameter of the small end of each frusto-conical member is substantially the same as the diameter of the large end of the next smaller member, the diameter of each of said separate members midway between the ends thereof being greater than the diameter of the next smaller separate member midway between its ends.

2. A package comprising a set of hair rollers as claimed in claim 1 in which each of the rollers in the set has the same taper.

3. A package comprising a set of hair rollers as claimed in claim 1 in combination with a second set of hair rollers comprising a plurality of elongated members each having a frusto-conical periphery, the rollers within each set being of equal length, the rollers of one set being longer than those of the other set, and the taper of the shorter rollers being greater than that of the longer rollers.

4. A package comprising a set of hair rollers as claimed in claim 1 in which each of said members is formed with a smooth outer surface.

5. A package comprising a set of hair rollers as claimed in claim 1 wherein said separate members when disposed in axial alignment and in end-to-end relation form a frusto-conical periphery.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,954,788 10/1960 Madore 132-39 3,123,081 3/1964 Vaughn 13241 2,611,376 9/1952 McIntyre 13240 3,039,881 6/1962 Shapiro 206- FOREIGN PATENTS 858,009 7/ 1949 Germany. 1,178,218 7/1957 France. 1,300,337 6/1962 France. 1,317,991 1/1963 France.

LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

J. W. MITCHELL, Assistant Examiner. 

